Resisting Velocity (5 page)

“She is. Well, she plans on it. But I want to change her mind.”

Parker waggled his eyebrows. “So
that’s
where you were last night? How was she? I bet she’s like a bucking bronco—”

“Watch it, Wilde.” The words came out on a growl loud enough to make the younger wolf jerk alert. Parker was suddenly wary, knowing he was walking on a very thin line. Zane shook his head. “Don’t talk about her like that.”

“Sorry. Jesus. Didn’t know you were so fond of her.”

Micah snorted. “Are you fucking blind?” Zane and Parker both stared at him and the drummer rubbed his temples. “Zane’s had a crush on Charlie since she hired on.”

“Observant,” mused Zane.

“She’s hot. She’s wolf. I can see the attraction.”

“Whoa, wait. Is Zane Alexander thinking about settling down?”

Zane narrowed his eyes on the man. “Just because you’ll screw anything that moves doesn’t mean that I’m the same way.”

“Harsh, but true.” Parker shrugged. “Not knocking it. Just saying that you’re so…young. And you’re one of the beautiful people. And you’re rich. You could have any girl you wanted, just crook a finger and croon that sweet voice of yours.” His voice went high, girlish: “Ohhhh, Zane-baby! I want to fu—”

Flashing sharpening teeth, Zane stood up and towered over the other wolf. Parker let out a surprised squawk, leaning back on the couch. “I said enough.” His voice was calm, but edged with ice.

“Chill, bro. Just playing.”

Zane shook his head, slightly pleased with the paleness that washed over the insubordinate wolf’s face at his demand. “Back to the topic at hand: Someone’s out to kill me.”

“What?”

“Shit, man, are you serious?”

Zane stared at them. “It’s the plan. We pretend someone’s out to get me. Threatening phone calls, nasty letters. Blackmail. Maybe a bomb threat. Something dramatic that happens with our last few concerts. Charlie won’t leave if my life’s in danger.”

“Cocky… But I like it.”

“You’re insane. She’ll skin you alive if she finds out the truth.”

“She won’t.” He flashed a smile. “And if either of you tell her, I’ll make your lives a living hell.”

“What about Benji?”

“We can’t tell him. You know how he is. Besides, he and Charlie are buddies; he’d let it slip. So he’s out of this loop.” Zane’s tone was matter-of-fact. “We can pull this off. We’ll set it up, go through with it at the next gig. We’ll put on an act, I’ll hire Charlie as my personal bodyguard. By the end of the tour, we’ll find some groupie to pretend to be the psycho. We’ll choose not to press charges, Charlie will be in love with me, and that’s the end.”

“Fuck.” Micah shook his head. “Insanity at its finest.”

“But brilliant as hell, you have to admit.” Parker grinned. “But love, Zane? That’s a big word.”

“Let me worry about that part. You guys help me. I’ll make it worth your while.” He glanced between the two men, taking a deep breath.

Parker slapped him on the back with a reckless grin. “Danger. Intrigue. The possibility of news coverage? Hells yeah, I’m in.”

Zane turned to Micah, who looked a mixture of astonished and pissed off. “You in? I don’t know if I can pull this off without you.”

“Yeah. I’m in, but if she finds out, there’ll be hell to pay. She’ll probably neuter your ass.”

“Probably,” Zane agreed. “But maybe she’ll do it out of love.”

He just hoped like hell she’d never find out.

***

The night was a restless one, spent bumping and rolling all over the place as the band and entourage traveled to their next location. High Velocity was set to perform the following evening at eight and usually she was up and at it for a twenty-hour day. Security had been setting things up since they arrived, securing the perimeters while checking clearances for people coming in for various vendors. Charlie had already explained to Conner that morning that she was going to be staying for the rest of the tour as backup while he adjusted to his new duties.

But being idle was already threatening to suffocate her.

The beast paced just beneath her skin, fussing at being caged. Charlie, who enjoyed being active when it came to tasks at hand, bristled at an idle day spent staring at a walkie-talkie, hoping for it to buzz and send her on her way to do something important. Instead it stayed quiet, mocking her in its silence, and frustration began to pool at the center of her soul.

She tried to sate the feelings dancing through her body by cleaning. Pulling on a pair of yellow rubber gloves and donning the Windex, she scrubbed away at any stain she could find, both inside of her trailer and out and before long, the place was spotless. But as the day wore on, aggression started building up and an irrational sense of martyrdom began to flow freely through her veins. Her wolf fanned the flames with her displeasure of being cooped up and soon, Charlie went from sitting to pacing the floors, her strides choppy with anger.

How could she have let herself fall for Zane’s smile and smooth charm? She had become just as brainwashed and simpering as the thousands upon thousands of fangirls that stood in the stands every night, screaming for the chance to maybe—just maybe—make eye contact with the lead singer.

She just couldn’t do this.

She had to get him to release her from her promise and then she was going to go, just drive away and find her own little place to live. And, if the feelings inside of her kept escalating the way they were now, maybe check herself into a psych ward for a forty-eight hour evaluation. She needed to get her emotions and her hormones back in check before she did something outrageous.

The staccato rhythm of pacing, a symphony of frustration, pounded in Charlie’s mind. He’d given her a smile and a line and she had fallen into heel like a love-struck puppy. Stupid! No. Worse than stupid, she was being spineless. His majesty hadn’t given her a list of approved activities and she was going crazy doing nothing. She needed to get out and…

Her mind whirred and a slow smirk spread across her face. Well then, she could work with that. She would get Zane to grant her freedom, and if he refused? Well then, maybe it was time to have a little fun.

Fueled by conflicting desires, Charlie was banging on the door to his trailer before she even realized she’d arrived. Her mind was racing through possibilities: Sex, drugs, alcohol, and oh yeah, rock and roll. The groupies lived on them, so why couldn’t she? Excitement trilled through her veins, a siren’s song calling her deeper.

“Alexander! I know you’re in there. Open the flipping door!”

Only then did she glance down at herself. Great. In her haste to release her aggression on him, she hadn’t bothered to take the time to clean up. It looked like she just rolled out of bed—and she had. Her normally restrained black curls flowed down her back in a wild mane. Remnants of yesterday’s makeup had smeared and lent the appearance of a smoky eye, not to mention her clothing looked barely legal out in public. And she smelled of window cleaner.

Oh well, too late now. Pulling her black short-shorts down and her matching tank top up, Charlie jerked to attention as the door swung open. “‘Lo?” Zane’s bleary reply let Charlie know that he’d been enjoying downtime before he went out on stage to wow the crowd with his hypnotic voice.

The same voice that had led Charlie here—smooth as silk and dangerous.

“We need to talk. Now.”

Zane’s eyes flicked down to take her in, then darted back up to her face. “Sounds good. Would you like to come in, or are you going to take my suggestion to flash people completely literal?”

She shoved past him into the trailer, wrinkling her nose at the stale scent of smoke and alcohol. “All this money and you can’t afford to have someone clean up once you’re done partying?”

“I didn’t realize I was dealing with a princess. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind for next time you show up at my door, unannounced.” His tone was wry.

“Yeah, whatever. About the whole ‘next time’ thing.” She took a deep breath and stared him in the eye. “I can’t do this, Zane. I’ve been off duty and following security around like a lap dog for less than two days now and I’m ready to climb the walls. I can’t do this. I know I said I’d stay, but I can’t. I don’t have a purpose here anymore and I’m losing my mind.”

“Okay. I’ll fire Conner. You’re hired. End of discussion.” He waved a hand, dismissive.

“You can’t be serious. You can’t fire Conner just because you’re trying to placate me into staying for a few more shows. I’m leaving, whether it’s right now or after the tour. If you fire him, you’ll be completely hosed afterwards. Not to mention how completely inappropriate it is to fire someone after two days on the job.”

Zane flopped down on a blue recliner, every bit a lazy, sated animal, and Charlie knew that with the smug look on his face, she’d not be going anywhere anytime soon. “Take it or leave it, but you’re staying, sweeting.” His voice was smooth, confident.

She took a deep breath, trying to quell the anger building inside of her, threatening to boil and froth to the surface. Without thinking, she snatched an empty glass off the counter and flung it, enjoying the satisfying tinkle of glass as it smashed against the wall beside Zane’s head. He jerked and sat up straight, alarmed.

“Listen up. You’re not going to just sit there and tell me I have to either screw one of my friends out of a job, or go crazy doing nothing in the process. If you wanna keep me here when I don’t want to even be here, you’re going to deal with my crazy. You’re going to clean up after my messes for once, because I’m done. You hear me, Zane Alexander? My crazy? Now yours.” She stomped once for good measure, feeling like a very bad child.

But it felt so good.

He looked stunned, sitting there, his lips parted. He started to shake his head, as if he couldn’t quite wrap his head around her new changes, and Charlie felt the smug satisfaction at seeing Zane Alexander unbalanced. About damn time. She’d never raised her voice around him. Hell—she had never screamed or smashed things in her entire life.

“Charlie. I think we need to just tone it down a notch, maybe just take a deep breath and then we can find something for you to do. Something that will keep you busy and uh…not sociopathic.”

The ornery gleam in Charlie’s blue eyes was the only clue that she was planning on making mischief versus being batshit crazy. She shook her head, hair flying wildly around her face, and took a step towards the trailer door, simultaneously rolling her shirt into an obscene tube top and hiking her shorts up far enough that he could easily see her ass.

“Oh, it’s on, Alexander. It’s on.”

“Char, wait a minute. You can’t be serious right now…”

“No, you’re right. I agreed to stay, but I’m bored out of my mind.” A sly smile crossed her lips. “I think I should get out and have a little fun. It’s been a damn long time since I’ve gotten to feel any real burn.”

“Fuck, if you want fire, you and me, we can burn it up.” His smile was wicked, but wariness flickered in his eyes. “Jesus, Charlie. I don’t know where this is coming from.”

“Enjoy, baby.” With that, she was through the door and down the steps of the trailer, fighting back a well of laughter. The expression on Zane’s face was worth it to have her shorts pulled up her butt and cleavage bared to the world. He’d looked horrified at the prospect of goody-two-shoes Charlie Banks acting like a wild child, but hell. If he hadn’t been so damned condescending in his chance to find something real for her to do, this wouldn’t even be happening. He’d just pushed a button. One button too many.

And now it was time to give him a little show.

Chapter Five

The only thing flashing through his mind was: Oh,
shit
.

Charlie had flipped her lid, plain and simple. Miss Conservative, One-Piece Suit had turned into a reckless teenager in less than two minutes flat, showing enough tits and ass to pique the interest of any straight man in a thirty mile radius. Which riled his beast, spiked up the hair on the back of his neck, and made him feel possessive.

But hot damn, she had a nice figure when it wasn’t tucked away inside a work uniform. She was lean and powerful like her inner wolf, but her curves were gentle, her breasts round and ripe for the taking, and as he watched her sashay those hips down the stairs, Zane was hit with a wave of lust that made his head spin.
Damn, Alexander, chill.
Yeah, try telling that to the sudden pressure in his cock.

He took a deep breath. There was still time to fix this, but he had to act now. The idea of Charlie going nuts and partying, getting smashed and getting laid by some guy who didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground set his teeth on edge. He had to swing her back around to his side. Hire her as a bodyguard. Give her something worthwhile to do so she didn’t act like a raging fangirl…

He scrambled around in his trailer, dragging on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, speed-dialing Micah’s number. He waited for his friend to pick up. He expected groggy and grumpy, instead he caught him wide awake. “Dude, Zane, please tell me you saw that.”

His gut dropped. “Saw what?”

“Charlie…in the flesh. Literally. Damn, man. She’s hot when she shows it off a little.”

Zane grumbled. “Yeah, just wish she wasn’t showing the whole world. She’s on a rampage and we need to move our plan up a notch. Meet me at Parker’s in five.” He pressed the end button, stuffed the phone back in his pocket, and rocketed down the steps. Three strides and he hit Parker’s trailer, rapping on the metal door.